mismanage

verb

mis·​man·​age ˌmis-ˈma-nij 

mismanaged; mismanaging

transitive verb

: to manage (something) wrongly or poorly

mismanage a business

… started thinking that maybe employees are sometimes mismanaged because they let themselves be mismanaged. They don't fight back.

—A. J. Anderson

… even those professional Pollyannas who publicly find reason to praise the current municipal administration shake their heads in private and wonder how long we can go on deliberately mismanaging our affairs.

—Brendan Gill

mismanagement

ˌmis-ˈma-nij-mənt 

noun

plural mismanagements

financial mismanagement of the company

Synonyms of mismanage

• misconduct
• damage
• violate
• mishandle
• misgovern
• abuse

Examples of mismanage in a Sentence

the business was mismanaged so seriously that it eventually had to declare bankruptcy

Recent Examples on the Web

Boseman’s parents, Leroy and Carolyn, accuse Simone Ledward Boseman of violating a court order mandating the distribution of funds and mismanaging the company that holds Chadwick’s rights and prior works. — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 23 July 2026

Chadwick Boseman’s brothers are alleging his widow is mismanaging his estate. — Leigh Blickley, Entertainment Weekly, 22 July 2026

But to build something sustainable, the Rangers will need several prospects to hit following years of bad picks and mismanaged development. — Vincent Z. Mercogliano, New York Times, 21 July 2026

Carney's press office did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment about the tariff threat or the accusations that the nation has mismanaged its forests. — Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 17 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for mismanage

• manage
• tannage

Kids Definition

mismanage

verb

mis·​man·​age

(ˈ)mis-ˈman-ij

: to manage badly or improperly

mismanagement

-mənt

noun